JK Pulls Left When Driving

centuryhouse

centuryhouse

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Dallas, TX
Hi all, thanks in advance for any help.

- 2015 Rubicon w 4" RC lift & 35 Nitto Trail Grapplers

- alignment done (toe only as no adjustable CAs), brake lines replaced, front driver side caliper replaced, tires rotated & inflated the same per manual gauge, non-charged steering stabilizer installed

Since I bought this 2 months ago it pulls left at all speeds despite the wheel being straight. I bought it assuming an alignment would fix it.

Nothing I've done has made a difference with one exception: since replacing the front DS caliper & bleeding it last night, it now pulls slightly RIGHT when braking (but still pulls left when driving).

No noise indicating a bearing going out. Front DS and PS tire seem to spin one as easily as the other when Jeep is raised.

I note that on forums, MANY people complain that Nitto Trail Grapplers cause a leftward pull and that the pull went away once they got different tires (I can't afford trying this). Hundreds of other claim it is impossible, or that they had the same tires with no issue.

Thoughts on next steps?
 
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Alignment report I was given by NTB.
 
Have you tried adjusting the tire pressure or swapping the left tire/wheel with the right front?
 
BLACKJKU said:
Have you tried adjusting the tire pressure or swapping the left tire/wheel with the right front?
Click to expand...
Yes - rotated tires (fronts went to rear, DS went to PS for both front and rear).

I did adjust tire pressure to make DS higher by 3lbs on DS which helped alleviate the symptoms but made the steering feel a little odd. But I returned it to normal (29lbs each) because it was just asking the symptom not resolving the problem.
 
centuryhouse said:
Yes - rotated tires (fronts went to rear, DS went to PS for both front and rear).

I did adjust tire pressure to make DS higher by 3lbs on DS which helped alleviate the symptoms but made the steering feel a little odd. But I returned it to normal (29lbs each) because it was just asking the symptom not resolving the problem.
Click to expand...

But when your running 35's you need to adjust the tire pressures to where the Jeep handles the best.
 
BLACKJKU said:
But when your running 35's you need to adjust the tire pressures to where the Jeep handles the best.
Click to expand...
That seems like a poor idea.

For instance if you had a bad wheel bearing causing this and just over-inflated a tire to mask it, you could end up with a real problem later on.

Or if an alignment issue you'd ruin your tires doing that.

I'm planning about 25 hours of driving to a remote area with a child and grandparent along for the trip, so am trying to rule out an issue that could leave us stranded on the roadside in the middle of West Texas for example.
 
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centuryhouse said:
That seems like a poor idea.

For instance if you had a bad wheel bearing causing this and just over-inflated a tire to mask it, you could end up with a real problem later on.

Or if an alignment issue you'd ruin your tires doing that.

I'm planning about 25 hours of driving to a remote area with a child and grandparent along for the trip, so am trying to rule out an issue that could leave us stranded on the roadside in the middle of West Texas for example.
Click to expand...


I though you checked the wheel bearings?
 
BLACKJKU said:
I though you checked the wheel bearings?
Click to expand...
I said it was not making any noise that I could hear. But that misses the point, since the wheel bearing is not the only potential issue a Jeep can have that would cause it to pull to one side.

My concern was that ignoring the issue and inflating tires to cover it instead of investigating it could result in missing an actual problem.

If I knew there was not a mechanical problem causing it then I would just adjust the pressure as I did before coming here to post.

My hope was to get ideas from others of what potential causes there could be so that I can be certain it isn't something that will leave us stranded somewhere far away and out of cell phone range.
 
Yup, 4” lift could be other issues causing the pull, probably the control arms. If you don’t have adjustable control arms they need to be added and then adjust the caster. Larger aggressive tires do need the air pressure adjusted as @BLACKJKU stated above. The recommend tire pressure is based on a completely different tire size and tread design.
 
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centuryhouse said:
Hi all, thanks in advance for any help.

- 2015 Rubicon w 4" RC lift & 35 Nitto Trail Grapplers

- alignment done (toe only as no adjustable CAs), brake lines replaced, front driver side caliper replaced, tires rotated & inflated the same per manual gauge, non-charged steering stabilizer installed

Since I bought this 2 months ago it pulls left at all speeds despite the wheel being straight. I bought it assuming an alignment would fix it.

Nothing I've done has made a difference with one exception: since replacing the front DS caliper & bleeding it last night, it now pulls slightly RIGHT when braking (but still pulls left when driving).

No noise indicating a bearing going out. Front DS and PS tire seem to spin one as easily as the other when Jeep is raised.

I note that on forums, MANY people complain that Nitto Trail Grapplers cause a leftward pull and that the pull went away once they got different tires (I can't afford trying this). Hundreds of other claim it is impossible, or that they had the same tires with no issue.

Thoughts on next steps?
Click to expand...
So you have a 4" RC lift without adjustable control arms.

That would be exactly where I focus. Our 08 JK, 2.5" lift....drove like garbage. Got upper double adjustable from core4x4, and changed the Caster. Massive fix. BFG 35" muds, and that size tire will pull and drift drive a lot. If we were at 4", I would get upper and lower adjustable, but the lower I haven't seen double adjustable.
 
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SteveF said:
I replaced the calipers on my 2000 TJ, one was bad and it dragged just enough to cause it to pull.
Click to expand...
My WJ did the same thing. 1st it was a front driverside caliper. Thought it was the caliper again. Replaced that under warranty, only to find out it was the hose collapsing.
 
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